The phrase “every little helps” has been commonly used for many years now, and has become one of the fundamental principles we all live by. The idea behind the phrase is simple: you don’t have to do a lot to make a difference. Instead, focus on doing enough little things, and you’ll soon be able to see positive results.
When it comes to running your business, “every little helps” is a very useful slogan to keep in mind. After all, business owners tend to be continually rushed off their feet and – particularly in the early days – the time and funds to do a lot often aren’t available. However, sometimes doing a little can be genuinely beneficial to a business – and here’s a few ideas as to how you can incorporate this concept into different areas of your business…
Every Little Helps… Your Finances
For the most part, business finance has to be dealt with on a large scale. When you are focusing on cutting your fixed costs or perhaps increasing your business’ bottom line, it’s all too easy to overlook the smaller areas that can make a difference in the long run. This is a real shame, and sometimes the simplest ideas can actually make a small but noticeable difference to your overall business financial picture…
For example…
Cutting costs in an effort to manage your expenditure is all well and good, but you are undoubtedly going to have to spend at some point – and when you do, why not make it more rewarding? If you opt to use the likes of the Chase ink cash card, you can earn cashback on your business-related purchases, and you can then use the cashback to reinvest back into your business as a whole. The best way to use these cards is to be cautious, and only purchase items or services that you would have bought anyway – provided you keep this in mind, cashback cards can be a great “little” way to give your business finances the boost they need.
Every Little Helps… When Managing Employees
Often, finding the leadership and management style that works for you is a process you have to dedicate a lot of time and energy to. Few of us are “natural born leaders”; instead, we have to work on our technique, hone our style of speaking, and read guides and advice to help decide the style needed to create a happy, healthy work environment for employees. All of this hard work is extremely beneficial, but sometimes, the small changes can make the biggest difference.
For example…
When you set a deadline, you will undoubtedly be hoping that your employees will be able to meet it. However, if you can, a simple way to boost morale is to extend the deadline a little further than intended – especially if it seems as if your staff are struggling to meet the original date. This will help to instantly boost staff morale and ensure that everyone feels their concerns have been taken into an account; this is only a small change, but you’ll find it is surprisingly effective for ensuring staff feel that their opinions are valued.
Every Little Helps… Your Eco-Friendly Efforts
Few areas of business – and in fact, life – feel grander than environmental concerns. It can feel impossible to truly influence the plight of the planet from our small, inconsequential area; but, as with most things, every little genuinely does help. For an issue as huge as the environment, all you can do is try and influence the areas you are able to control, and this is especially true for your business.
For example…
Paper waste is a truly staggering issue, and businesses are among the biggest contributors to the problem – did you know that 50% of the total waste that businesses generate is paper waste? To combat this, just make a simple switch in your office: you will only use recycled paper or, if you’re feeling even more adventurous, you could consider becoming a paper-free office. When considering the scale of the environmental changes required to help slow the progress of climate change, tackling paper waste may seem like a drop in the ocean… but every little helps.
Every Little Helps… Your Customer Service
Customer service is one of the biggest challenges for businesses to overcome, and perfecting this area of your business almost certainly demands a huge amount of time and resources. It is generally accepted that poor customer service is, in the 21st century, incredibly damaging for a business, so any changes you can make to improve this area will be hugely beneficial – even if the change in question is rather small.
For example…
Working in customer service is largely seen as an incredibly difficult job, and you may struggle for staff retention in this area as a result. However, there is one small change that can make life better for both your employees and your customers: active listening.
Active listening is a psychological tool that your employees can use to really engage with what a customer is saying. The idea behind active listening is to be actively involved in the conversation; for example, your employee may say “I understand” or “I see” at regular intervals to show they are engaged. This is hugely beneficial for customer service as one of the major sources of problems on customer service calls occurs when customers don’t feel they are being listened to; active listening prevents this from happening, which in turn creates a nicer environment for your employees too.
In Conclusion
While the idea of doing a little is something most business owners feel underwhelmed by, there are times in life when “a lot” just isn’t feasible. However, as the above points show, focusing on a philosophy of “every little helps” is still able to produce results that can have a genuinely positive impact on your business essentials and, potentially, the world as a whole. So while it’s still beneficial to look for the big changes that can boost your business, you may be surprised at just how big a difference the little changes described above can really make.
